UGA takes second at accounting competition

Posted: Sunday, April 22, 2007

A team comprising University of Georgia accounting students finished second in KPMG's National Audit Case Competition, held last week in New York.

UGA Tull School of Accounting students Doug Fisher, Daniel Bennett, Alexander Aldworth and Sharlee Floren competed against student teams representing Brigham Young University, Ohio State University, University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The University of Virginia was first and The University of Wisconsin-Madison was third.

The UGA students earned $15,000 for the Tull School and $3,000 each for their finish.

The KPMG competition requires the teams to perform some of the most challenging tasks that auditors face.

In the finals, the teams were asked to give presentations and answer questions posed by a judging panel of scholars, audit committee members and KPMG partners.

The student teams used a Web-based application designed by KPMG International's Global Services Centre that simulated a series of interactions between a KPMG audit partner and members of the student audit team. Partner mentor videos, audio, PowerPoint slides and simulated e-mails were used to provide background information and instructions.

The KPMG Foundation was created in 1968 to support quality education in business, specifically through its Matching Gift Program.

The firm's long-term goal is to develop a semester-long, fifth-year accounting and auditing capstone case that would be made available at no cost to faculty worldwide. KPMG is an audit, tax and advisory firm.